RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Transport and Logistic Services, Saleh al-Jasser, on Wednesday said that joint studies for a railway link project connecting Saudi Arabia and Turkey via Jordan and Syria are expected to be completed before the end of the year, noting that the project supports trade movement.
During an interview with Al Arabiya Business, al-Jasser said the project would “enhance regional integration, support trade, and develop a sustainable land transport system between the countries of the region.”He noted that Saudi Arabia’s national railway network currently extends to the Jordanian border via the al-Haditha crossing, making it a strategic point for future regional and international connectivity. In March, al-Jasser had announced the launch of the Logistics Routes Initiative at Jeddah Islamic Port to enhance supply chain flexibility and ensure the flow of trade in the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf. He emphasized that Saudi Arabia’s ports and corridors are operating in an integrated manner to facilitate regional trade and the movement of goods between countries.
Al-Jasser also highlighted Saudi Arabia’s capacity in the Red Sea, saying it can handle over 17 million containers annually, and stressed the importance of ports in receiving containers transferred from Gulf states. He added that efforts are underway to connect Red Sea ports with logistics routes to Gulf states, strengthening Saudi Arabia’s role as a regional hub for cargo movement and developing new freight railway corridors linking Gulf ports with the al-Haditha crossing. He further confirmed that work has been stepped up at Red Sea ports to improve readiness, and said the country’s airports are “open to aircraft of brotherly countries.”
